Fernandez upsets Bredenbeck in 32s at IRT Cincinnati

There have been a few surprises at the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Mercedes Benz of Ft. Mitchell Raising Some Racquet for Kids tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio, but perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that it’s young Mexican players who have creating those surprises. The greatest of which is Sebastian Fernandez’s upset win over Jake Bredenbeck, 15-13, 8-15, 11-10. The win puts the Mexican teenager into the Round of 16 for the third time in his fifth career IRT event.

Joining Fernandez in the 16s is his compatriot Gerardo Franco, who beat Robert Collins, 15-8, 15-3. Franco will play Daniel De La Rosa in the Round of 16.

There was one other upset in the last round of qualifying, but Japanese veteran Hiroshi Shimizu got the win over Charles Pratt by default. Nonetheless, Shimizu is through to the 16s, where he’ll face Canadian Samuel Murray.

The Round of 16 begins 6 PM Friday evening, and can be seen on IRT Network as well as the IRT Facebook page and YouTube, according to a tweet from the IRT. The quarterfinals will be 10 and 11 AM Saturday morning. The semi-finals will be 5 PM and 6 PM Saturday with the final at noon Sunday. All times eastern.

2018 IRT Mercedes Benz of Ft. Mitchell Raising Some Racquet for Kids, April 5-8, 2018
Cincinnati, Ohio

Qualifying Round 2 / Round of 32 - Friday morning

Q8) Thomas Carter d. Nicholas Riffel, 15-6, 14-15, 11-2
Q1) David Horn d. Mauricio Zelada, 15-13, 15-11

Q4) Jose Diaz d. Troy Warigon, 15-12, 15-9
Q5) Sebastian Fernandez d. Jake Bredenbeck, 15-13, 8-15, 11-10

Q6) Adam Manilla d. Scott McClellan, 15-2, 15-6
Q3) Hiroshi Shimizu d. Charles Pratt, forfeit

Q2) Felipe Camacho v. Miguel Rodriguez Jr., 15-6, 15-13
Q7) Gerardo Franco d. Robert Collins, 15-8, 15-3

Round of 16 - Friday evening

1) Rocky Carson v. Thomas Carter - 7 PM
8) Sebastian Franco v. David Horn - 7 PM

5) Jansen Allen v. Jose Diaz - 7 PM
4) Alejandro Landa v. Sebastian Fernandez - 7 PM

3) Alvaro Beltran v. Adam Manilla - 6 PM
6) Samuel Murray v. Hiroshi Shimizu - 6 PM

7) Mario Mercado v. Felipe Camacho - 6 PM
2) Daniel De La Rosa v. Gerardo Franco - 6 PM

Follow the bouncing ball….